Reverie
by Aiedail01
Summary: Collection of Twilight one-shots. Some angsty stuff, humor, and lots of fluff! Ch 40 up: "'Why do you need to be with her all the time' Edward simply shrugs and brushes past him. He can’t answer that question, because he really doesn’t know.
1. Reverie

**This is my collection of Twilight one shots. Yayy! Most of them are random ideas I've thought of and just felt like writing, so I thought I'd put 'em all together. : ) I'm trying to work on my perspectives and writing styles, so any criticism, help, or comments you can give are well appreciated! Enjoy, and please review!**

**I've written quite a few already, and this is one of my favorites. **

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. She owns all.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella/Edward**

**x x x**

**Reverie**

**Reverie: rev·er·ie** (**rev**-_uh_-ree)

**-noun.**

**1. A state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing: _lost in reverie._**

They lay in his bed together, peaceful and serene, the silence somehow powerful. He has his arms around her, lips in her hair, she is relaxed against his chest.

She closes her eyes, imagining, her mind drifting off into wonderful reveries. If only he would let her be in charge of how far they could or couldn't go, they wouldn't be so still right now. No, they would be doing something completely different.

First she would bring his mouth down to hers, make him kiss her like they'd never kissed before. She would open her mouth, slide her tongue into his, and he wouldn't protest, wouldn't pull away. Just hold her tighter, wrap his arms around her.

Then her hands would slide down to his chest, pull his shirt from his shoulders. And her fingertips would dance on the icy planes, the beautiful marble sculpture that belonged to her.

Still kissing her, his hands would move from tightly around her waist up to her blouse, begin to unfasten it, his fingers lingering at her neck, making her shiver. And his fingers would move down to the next button, and the next-

**2. A daydream.**

"What are you thinking, love?" He prods her back to reality, out of her reverie.

She can feel her cheeks heating. "N-nothing," she mumbles. "Just daydreaming."

"About me, I hope?" he teases, raising an eyebrow. Oh, how he loves the flush on her face.

"Always."

**3. A fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea: _reveries that will never come to fruition._**

She had so much faith in him, believed him to be much more than he was. He wasn't good, he wasn't an angel like she thought. She loved him too much, much more than he was worthy of.

He felt like a dirty liar, letting her believe this. And he tried to convince her otherwise, as often as possible. But still she believed the best. She was naïve, innocent, trusting. He was dangerous, misleading, selfish. He wasn't enough for her.

He felt guilty that he couldn't give her a normal relationship. Instead they had to hold their desires back, always being careful. He knew what she wanted, but she didn't understand that he wanted it just as much as she did.

He imagined himself holding her to him, leaning in and kissing her. Properly, this time. Not a chaste peck, a real kiss. Deep, endless, and perfect. Running his hands over her body, touching her the way she wanted to be touched.

Never going to happen. Implausible. Beautiful, satisfying, but unrealistic.

This was a reverie, nothing more.


	2. Excellent

This is based off of the first Breaking Dawn quote of the day

**Aww, man, I wanted some reviews. P Come on, guys!! Please?? **

**This is based off of the first Breaking Dawn quote of the day. : ) It's not the best, but I just thought I'd throw it in here.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella, Edward, Alice**

**x x x**

**Excellent**

"What are we doing today?" I asked Edward, smiling up at him.

"I don't really have anything planned..." He trailed off.

"Well, I need to take Bella shopping," Alice announced, suddenly joining the conversation. "For the wedding."

I looked at her, confused. "We already have the dress." What else could I possibly need?

"I know, silly, but there's other stuff."

"I'm sure Bella doesn't want to go shopping," Edward put in quickly, coming to my rescue. "Do you?"

I hesitated. I'd much rather stay with Edward, but I didn't want to hurt Alice's feelings.

"Fine," Alice decided. "I'll play you for her. Rock, paper, scissors."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you just tell me who wins?"

"I do," Alice replied, a grin lighting her face. "Excellent."

"Hey! You guys!" I protested, feeling very much like a toy they were taking turns with.

"I win. Come on, Bella, let's go."

When we were in the car, safely out of range of the house, she grinned. "Hey, Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Edward won. I lied."


	3. Excellent v 2

**Just another version of the first Breaking Dawn quote of the day... short, 100 word drabble. Thought of it today and I thought I'd post it along with the other one.**

**Characers: Edward, Alice**

**x x x**

**Excellent v. 2.0**

They were hunting.

Edward ran, darting around trees, following the scent of the blood, Alice keeping pace with him.

They found the source. One, lone, mountain lion, pacing in a cave. Only one. He let the smell of it fill his nose and crouched, preparing to spring.

"I like mountain lions, too," she whined.

"Since when?" He raised an eyebrow, slightly irritated.

"Since always!" she said. "I'll play you for it. Rock, paper, scissors."

"Couldn't you just tell me who wins?" He was getting impatient, he needed the blood.

"I do. Excellent," Alice responded with a grin. And she pounced.


	4. One Little Slip

Kind of angsty

**Thanks so much for all the amazing reviews! I really appreciate it!**

**Kind of angsty. I like this one, though, it turned out pretty well.**

**Characters/Parings: Emily/Sam**

**x x x**

**One Little Slip**

All it took was one little slip for him to lose control.

One little slip, one time to become too angry.

She sees her face in the mirror, runs her fingers over the angry lines running down her cheek. It makes her sad to see these; it makes her sad to see _him_ see these. It's a reminder, for both of them, of what could happen. What did happen.

She remembers.

"What's wrong, Sam?" she had asked, coming to kiss him as he walked in the door.

"Leah," he'd growled. "Go away, Emily. I'm not in the mood."

She hadn't wanted to leave him alone, he'd looked so upset.

"I'm sorry. Are you sure you're making the right choice? I understand that you love her." It had hurt her to say this, but she only wanted him to be happy.

"I'm sure!" he'd barked at her, sending shivers of fear and apprehension up her body. "Just leave me alone."

But she couldn't let it go, drop it and leave like he'd told her.

"Please, Sam, let me help." She'd tried to wrap her arms around him, to calm him down.

He'd growled, one last time, rage lighting his face. Suddenly he'd exploded, the clothes ripping from his body, fur shooting out of his limbs. He'd slashed recklessly with his paw, and she was on the floor, blood pouring from her face.

She hadn't been able to respond, couldn't. She was in shock, the pain not even registering. His heart pounded as realized what had happened, and he phased back, horror and revulsion at himself overpowering the anger. He held her, naked on the floor, tears running down his face.

"Emily, Emily, what have I done?"

She hears his strangled voice in her head, every time she sees these scars.

All it took was one little slip for her to realize that he was dangerous.

One little slip, and she was damaged.

One little slip they would never forget.


	5. Dance With Me

"Dance with me, Isabella

**This is just a bit of meaningless fluff. Not my favorite, but whatever. Enjoy. :)**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella/Edward**

**x x x**

**Dance With Me**

"Dance with me, Isabella."

They are lying on his bed, calm, quiet, listening to delicate classical music on his stereo. His arms are around her as she takes in the sound of the piano, a sound she has come to love. No piano player could ever compare to him, of course, but it reminds her of him, and that's enough. She feels safe.

She is surprised at the question. "No," she says immediately. "You know I can't dance..."

"_You _don't have to do anything," he contradicts. "Dance with me, please?" His velvet and honey voice is pleading, whispering in her ear, cool breath across her face.

She has forgotten how to speak, let alone tell him no.

He sees her eyes give in and leans over to pick her up. He places her gently on the floor, his arms tightly around her, face in her hair. She leans into his chest, closes her eyes.

_So this is why Alice made me wear this ridiculous thing._ She has on a pale blue nightgown with a full skirt. She was never partial to nightgowns; they seemed rather impractical for sleeping.

But now, it seems sort of perfect. The moonlight shines through the window on them, the only light in this dark room.

She thinks of nothing but him as he whirls her round and round.


	6. This is What is Left

Who Knew

**This is probably the most angst-ridden thing I have ever written/ever will write. The idea just came to me... and I was like GAH fine I'll write this and see if it doesn't suck. I think it turned out okay. Even if the plot sucks, the writing is good. :)**

**Set during New Moon. Very Emo!Bella.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella, Edward's voice**

**x x x**

**This is What is Left  
**

The tip of the knife glints at her from across the room, sunlight reflecting on the sharp blade. It's still there from last night, she remembers slicing the ripe red tomatoes with it for her and Charlie's dinner. She guesses she forgot to put it away.

_What are you planning, love? _It's his voice, whispering in her ear, surrounding her, filling her. It sounds apprehensive, but curious, like he doesn't quite trust her.

She drums her fingers on the table top, she continues to stare at the knife. She inches towards it, nervously, carefully, afraid she might collapse before she gets there.

_Be careful, _he tells her. _Don't do anything stupid. Be rational, Bella._

She doesn't want to, doesn't have to. No one is there to stop her.

She finishes her tedious trek across the kitchen, and she is next to the gleaming silver blade.

_Don't you dare touch that._

She smiles at his voice, reaches for the knife. She cradles it in her hands, her pale fingertips skipping cautiously across its smooth silver surface. Delicate, slender. Pretty, almost. She holds it up vertically, in front of her face.

It _is_ pretty, she decides. The sunlight coming in through the window causes it to shimmer again, casting miniature suns across the surface, blinding her and etching a mirror image across her vision.

She blinks away the purple spots.

_What are you doing? Put that down. _His voice is urgent, an order, but there she can hear the frantic notes of pleading underneath.

She runs the tip of her finger across the thin sliver of the edge, the sharpest part. It gleams again, an invitation.

She touches the sharp point, brings it slowly down to the near translucent skin on her wrist.

_Stop, stop it now. Don't do this._

The knife hovers above the pale skin, she sees the blue veins beneath. Then she pushes forward.

It collides soundlessly with her skin, shallowly sinking into her flesh. She makes two marks on her wrist, identical to the scar already on her hand. Two crescent shaped slivers, a small distance apart.

Teeth marks.

She imagines that they're from his teeth; that the poison is now flowing into her veins. She imagines herself writhing, crying out in agony as the fire spreads through her, turns her warm blood to icy venom.

Who knew she could be so masochistic?

It clears her head, the pain. Makes her see straight. She's not crazy. This voice she hears- completely normal. The current state of her sanity is no longer in question.

Then the blood. The two slices in her arm open up like a cavern, blood running up over the edges and trickling down her arm. She blanches, it terrifies her. The scent of it arcs up to her nose, rust and salt, hell once over, sickening her.

But it's his voice again.

_Bella... _he murmurs to her, warming her immediately. _Your blood, it's so sweet. Why are you doing this to me, love? This isn't safe. It's tempting me... _

She smiles lightly. "Just drink it," she whispers. "Let me escape this." The blood drips onto the floor at her feet.

_My God, Bella. _His voice is strangled, quiet and low. _What has become of you?_

And she realizes what she is doing, what she has said.

She is horrified, her breathing goes ragged. She can't get enough air into her lungs. Her mind is flashing, racing, she is unsure of what to do.

_Fix this, Bella! _he urges her.

Her head is spinning, she can't fix this, she can't!

_Clean it up,_ he tells her.

She listens. She plasters a band-aid to her arm, scrubs the kitchen until her fingers are numb. She wipes off the blade of the knife, puts it away in the drawer.

His voice doesn't come back, and she is once more a hollow shell of herself.

"What happened?" Charlie asks at dinner, nodding towards her bandaged arm.

"I fell," she lies, turning away from him. He nods, this is normal for her. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a scrape.

After school, the next day. She is sitting in the kitchen, lost, dejected. Alone.

She doesn't want to do it again. But she needs to hear his voice. It makes her feel sane, whole again, almost human.

The drawer. Her nervous eyes land on it, then quickly look away. She shouldn't. She can't. The knife is calling to her, telling her to touch it. The drawer is closed, but she can't keep her eyes from flicking towards it, again and again. She stands up.

_No, no, no, Bella, don't do it._

His voice is back. She tries to listen to him. She turns around, but then the realization hits her like a brick to the head, makes her stagger. As soon as she leaves the room, decides not to, she won't be able to hear him.

And she can't lose that, she refuses. She's already lost him, and so much of herself. This is what is left.

Her eyes slide to the drawer. She moves toward it, slides it open.

_Bella, no, please, love. For me._

For him? She is doing _this_ for him, for his voice, for the reassurance that he gives her.

She picks up the knife.


	7. Wedding Shopping

Edward walked out of the dressing room, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but of course absolutely gorgeous, in a plain black tuxedo

**Sorry for no update yesterday! I was out all day. (Lacrosse conditioning, hanging out with people, and then I saw Mamma Mia! Which was amazing. ) ) So I'll put up two today.**

**This is just a drabble I wrote when I saw yesterday's Breaking Dawn quote. Hope you like it!**

**Characters: Bella, Edward, Alice**

**x x x**

**Wedding Shopping**

Edward walked out of the dressing room, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but of course absolutely gorgeous, in a plain black tuxedo.

"Perfect," I breathed, my eyes lighting up.

"Shut up, Bella. You think they're all perfect." Alice rolled her eyes as she moved lithely toward Edward, fixing invisible imperfections and tugging at hems.

I felt my cheeks grow warm and imagined they were turning slightly pink. "Well, they all _are," _I muttered defensively, folding my arms across my chest.

Alice shook her head and furrowed her brow, looking intently at Edward in the tux. "Not this one," she decided. "Go try on the first one again."

Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed. "You're awfully small to be so hugely irritating."

Alice nodded modestly. "It's a gift."


	8. You Smell So Good in the Rain

It's raining

**I love this one, I think it's my favorite. Title is a direct quote from Twilight, from when they're going to play baseball. Cute fluff. :)**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella/Edward**

**x x x**

**You Smell So Good in the Rain**

It's raining.

He opens the Volvo door, helps her out into the foggy morning air. He takes her hand immediately, and they begin the slow walk towards the front doors of the school building.

"Sorry I don't have an umbrella for you," he said apologetically, his eyes sliding to meet hers, checking her reaction.

"It's okay. I think I like the rain today," she says contentedly, squeezing his hand.

Everyone hurries around them across the parking lot, holding papers and books over their heads, trying to avoid the fat droplets that splash when they hit the ground, collecting in shallow pools on the pavement at their feet.

They're getting wet. Her clothes are soaked, heavy against her skin.

But she doesn't mind, and he's not about to question her. It's surprisingly humid for Forks, and the cold raindrops feel nice against her skin. Her hair is drenched, and so is his, but she kind of likes it, saturated with water. She reaches up and touches it, ruffling the bronze strands so that drips fly off, rolling down her arm.

He gazes at her, the crooked smile on his face sending her heart into a frenzy of staccato beats.

"What?" she asks self-consciously, smiling back at him. She is happy, albeit a little confused at his expression.

Suddenly she feels herself swept off her feet. His arms are around her waist as he pulls her petite frame up to his chest, holding her there tightly and crushing his lips to hers.

Time slows down. She forgets everything as he kisses her, standing there, rain falling down on the both of them. She kisses him back, shivering slightly from the cold rain, from his cold body.

In a minute he sets her down, takes her hand, and resumes walking. It takes a few seconds and several gentle tugs on her hand for her feet to remember how to move forward.

Several people near them have stopped rushing, are staring at them now, surprise clear on their faces.

"What was that?" she murmurs happily, biting her lip and looking at the ground, as he watches the familiar pink flush lighting her cheeks.

"You smell so good in the rain," he says simply.


	9. Interlude

This is based off of Twilight, when Edward tells Bella about the time when he left Carlisle and hunted people based on if they were good or bad, and about following a murderer stalking a young girl

**You guys! PLEASE review! I feel like people aren't reading these and I'm just writing to myself. Well, actually that's not entirely true because a ton of people added this to their favorites/alerts but haven't reviewed. Can we make an honest effort, pleeease? Thanks to people that DID review. :) You're awesome.**

**This is based off of when Edward tells Bella about the time when he left Carlisle and hunted people based on if their thoughts (good vs. bad). He said something about following a murderer stalking a young girl. I'm not really sure why I called this one Interlude... it just seemed somehow appropriate. Whatever. Haha.**

**Characters/Pairings: Edward**

**x x x**

**Interlude**

The vampire stood in the shadows, silently, unmoving, his figure blending in with the dark alley wall. His name was Edward, and he was thirsty. A young girl rushed past him, the wind whipping through her wispy blonde hair and sending thick waves of her scent towards him.

He groaned inaudibly, prepared to follow this girl and taste her blood.

_Where could it be? I know I heard a kitten meow. Once I find him, I'll bring him home, and maybe Mother will let me keep him. Where is that kitty?_

He stopped himself as he heard her thoughts. No, she was too innocent.

But then he heard another voice in his head, another set of thoughts came into his range.

_What a precious little girl. I think I'd like her. It's rather perfect, her running into this alley, all alone. No one will know. Take her innocence, leave her here broken to die. Simple, quick, easily managed._

It was a man. He looked around quickly, checking for witnesses, then slipped into the alley. He, too, brushed past Edward without noticing him, just trailing the slight pitter-patter of the girl's Mary Jane shoes.

The vampire slid along the wall after them.

_Kitty, kitty! Where are you? There he is. Oh, he's so cute with his little pointy ears. And he's gray, with white paws. His fur... it's so soft._

"Hello, little girl."

The girl froze, fear causing her stomach to somersault and her heart to speed up. She wasn't stupid- she could sense the maliciousness in his voice, the lechery in his eyes. She clutched the cat to her chest.

Time for Edward to intervene. He stepped out of the shadows. "A problem?" he inquired politely, stepping between the man and the girl.

"No, no, problem," the man said smoothly. Edward could tell the man was slightly nervous now, but his expression didn't let on.

_What is this boy doing? Surely he doesn't aim to stop me. Look how much bigger I am than him. I'll just have to commit two murders, tonight. A slight hassle, but what does it matter now?_

"I think this girl should get home. It's getting late." The vampire's eyes slid to the girl. She frantically bobbed her head up and down, agreeing with him, but her eyes were still full of panic and her heart rate hadn't returned to normal. The kitten purred softly in her arms.

"She won't be going home," the man said confidently, stepping back and blocking the way out of the alley.

_  
How will I get them both? Maybe capture the boy first, the girl will be more likely to stay and be still. But she could slip away... Then I'll go for the girl. The boy won't leave, he knows she could die before he gets back. _

He had his plan of action, and prepared to put it into action.

But the vampire was next to him in an instant, twisting his arm behind his back. The man cried out in pain, struggled against Edward's grasp.

"Go home," Edward told the girl. "You shouldn't wander in alleys, it's not safe."

She nodded quickly and scampered away, tripping several times and nearly losing her cat.

Edward waited until he could no longer sense the girl. He turned on the man, glared at him, and let go of his arm. Sometimes it was more fun to chase the prey, to let it think it has a chance.

As expected, the man tried to dart away. The vampire let him get halfway down the alley, before speeding in front of him and stopping. The man didn't even see him move, but suddenly Edward was in front of him. The man crashed into the vampire's marble chest, falling backwards with the sudden impact.

Edward grabbed his shoulder, yanking him to his feet, and carried him back towards the end of the alley.

"Wha- what are you?" The man stuttered, trembling under the iron grip.

Edward chuckled and dropped the man to the ground. "Oh, I think you'd rather not know."

And he sunk his teeth into the man's shoulder, draining him of blood.


	10. Alice in the Sunlight

**Thanks for the reviews!! Xoxo**

**This one is just Alice/Jasper fluff. I hope I made Alice's character okay. I didn't want to make her too childish or anything, but she just strikes me as someone who gets excited over everything. Let me know if there's anything I can improve on.**

**Characters/Pairings: Alice/Jasper**

**x x x**

**Alice in the Sunlight**

It's sunny in Forks, and Alice jumps at the chance to go outside.

"Come on, Jasper!" she pleads, tugging his arm.

He gives in, because he would do anything for this little sprite of a girl.

They race through the woods until they come to a clearing. Last night's storm has knocked over a tree, and sunlight streams in through the gap between branches, way up high.

It thrills her, being outside in the light, watching her skin sparkle.

It thrills him, seeing her so happy and excited. She looks so innocent, beautiful and pure, as the sunlight throws rainbows across her body.

They don't flaunt their relationship like Rosalie and Emmett, aren't constantly touching like Bella and Edward.

But Alice and Jasper have a bond, strong and solid. It's been there since he found her in the diner all those years ago, never losing its intensity.

Her eyes are wide and child-like as she watches a small white butterfly flutter near her face. She reaches out quickly and captures it between her hands, but she is too strong, and she crushes it.

Her face looks so dejected as she stares at the dead butterfly in her palms. "Shoot," she mutters, brushing it onto the ground.

The expression on her face is priceless. Jasper laughs and runs to her, picking her up by the waist and spinning her. She giggles, her arms around his neck. "What?"

He sets her down, kisses the tip of her perky little nose. "You're cute."

Alice stands on her tip-toes, but she still can't reach. So instead of kissing his nose back, she kisses his chest. "So are you."

And then she vaults herself away, back to dance in the brilliant sunshine. Excitement radiates off of her skin, and she is glowing and glittering and radiant, and so beautiful he wants to kiss her again.

So he does. As he scoops her up, cradles her in his arms, and presses his lips to hers, he thinks there has never been a more perfect sight than Alice in the sunlight.

**x x x  
**

**I really like this one, hope you did too!**

**REVIEW if you read this! I would LOVE to have two or more. Thanks!!**


	11. Jealousy

What was it about her

**Hmm, I'm not too sure about this one. It's Rosalie's thoughts on Bella when Edward first starts paying attention to her... set during Twilight. Definately not my favorite.**

**Characters: Rosalie**

**x x x**

**Jealousy**

What _was_ it about her?

Rosalie studied the little human. She was short. She had wide-set eyes, lifeless brown hair, and a shy, uninteresting personality. Rosalie supposed she _could_ be considered pretty. Cute. Maybe.

But nothing at all special.

What was the attraction? What made her dear brother want this plain little girl more than, dare she think it, _herself?_

It had never been a problem before. Humans were always drooling over him, and over the whole Cullen family in general. They were used to it.

Rosalie and Edward hadn't exactly gotten along from the start. He thought she was shallow, and although she was, she didn't appreciate being _called _superficial and small-minded.

He was the first male to resist her. She had expected him to tell her how stunning she was, to validate her, by complimenting her extreme beauty, enhanced even further by her transformation. But he had taken one look at her and never said anything of the sort.

She'd been slightly offended at first, but then realized he was just strange that way. There were countless beautiful, available vampires (she'd quite liked Tanya, actually) vying for his attention, and yet he ignored them all.

And instead went for a human.

Of all the things he could go for, he chooses a dull human.

"Emmett..." she asked, feeling sort of silly. But she needed to know. "Do you think... you know, that human Edward has the strange obsession with... is she prettier than me?"

He snorted. "Are you kidding me, Rose? No way."

It made her feel slightly better, but not enough.

She couldn't shake the feeling that this pathetic little human being had something that she didn't. Although she didn't particularly _want_ Edward (she had Emmett, who of course was much, much more attractive than Edward), it was a little upsetting that _he_ didn't want her. A blow to her ego, if you will.

Was she, Rosalie Hale, envying a _human?_ She scoffed at the thought. Never. The very idea disturbed her. She couldn't be _jealous_.

Could she?

**x x x**

**Keep the reviews coming! D**


	12. Just a Fleck of Yellow Light

He was the only doctor in this small town

**Once again, writing to myself... pleeease review, guys.**

**Okay! I am so excited. I just found out that Reverie is a song by Debussy, who also composed Clair de Lune, as mentioned/bonded over by Edward and Bella.**

**This random title I selected is turning out a lot better than I'd hoped! Haha. I got it from She's A Handsome Woman by Panic at the Disco. (Awesome song!)**

**Just a Fleck of Yellow Light**

**Fall was always left in your eyes**

**Just a fleck of yellow light**

**Like a sunrise**

**Like the twilight**

**-Weeping Willow, The Hush Sound**

Carlisle Cullen was the only doctor in this small town.

Before him, there were housewives that pretended to be experts, doling out medicine and patching up scrapes. But that was as much as they could do, and more serious cases would have to be sent to the hospital, almost twenty miles away.

When he'd arrived, they'd been overjoyed. He set broken bones, treated concussions, even performed minor surgeries.

"He's a blessing!" This from the many women who had nothing other to do than gossip freely in their parlors, drinking tea and making cookies. "And a very handsome one at that," they would say with a sly wink.

Carlisle worked in the morgue. Most deaths were from old age, or the occasional drowning. There were no murders, because there was no crime in this town.

But there was only so much he could do at one time. He let the housewives have their fun, continue to hand out cough syrup to babies with croup, douse cuts and sores with antiseptic.

He realized that it was rather morbid, but the morgue was his favorite place. Examining the dead bodies, determining causes of death. It interested him. It even interested Edward (currently passing as his brother), who tended to stay indoors most of the time.

Today Edward lounged in the corner, obviously with nothing better to do, as Carlisle examined the body of Mr. Frederick Galvin, an elderly man who'd had a stroke the previous night.

"I wish I could hear the thoughts of these dead people," Edward said nonchalantly.

"That's relatively disturbing, Edward," Carlisle noted, prodding the cold stiff arm in front of him.

Edward shrugged. "I can hear _your_ thoughts, and you're dead."

Carlisle smiled wryly. He was about to reply, when there was a sudden clatter, a gathering, it seemed, outside.

"The townspeople are rebelling," Edward said, always cynical. "They're out there forming a mob."

Carlisle glared, and glanced out the window. A group of people (he had to admit they rather did look like a mob), were making their way towards the little building where he worked.

He looked closer. Two were carrying a stretcher, on it a body covered by a sheet. He could smell blood, fresh, warm, and horribly appealing. This person had just died. He heard their voices as they got closer.

"What happened?" asked an apparent newcomer to the group. These people were attracting attention, parading through town with this stretcher. Carlisle felt a twinge of the disgust. No respect for the dead at all.

"This is the girl that lost the baby. Remember her? She was hearbroken. Threw herself off a cliff. Awful, isn't it?" This from one of the men holding the stretcher.

Carlisle had heard about her, but never seen her. A young woman, about twenty-six, had arrived in town, pregnant and alone. An older, kindly woman with no family had taken her in and delivered the baby, but it had died three days after birth.

"Horrible," the other man agreed.

"Died right away. Tons of broken bones, and bruises and cuts. Probably lost too much blood, too."

They had arrived at the door. The two men holding the stretcher brought it in, the others crowding around the door, desperate to peek inside. They laid it on a table and stepped back, eager to leave. Very rarely did humans speak when they were in the morgue. It was an intimidating place, Carlisle supposed, if you weren't used to it.

"What is this?" Carlisle asked, though he knew already.

"Dead girl. She jumped off a cliff. Take a look, would you?"

Carlisle nodded curtly, and the men herded the group out the door, shutting it behind them.

Carlisle went to the table, carefully pulled back the sheet. His breath caught in his throat as he gazed down at her.

Her entire body was covered in gashes and bruises, warm blood still seeping from some of them. Her hair was matted with blood and dirt, full of leaves and sticks. Carlisle gently placed his hands on her abdomen. He could tell that almost half of her ribs were broken, some shattered beyond repair. He turned her over, and wished he hadn't. A huge gash ran across the length of her head. It sickened him, seeing this poor woman like this.

He closed his eyes for a moment, but then looked her closer. He'd seen her before. It had been autumn, several years ago, in a different city. He remembered the scent of that day, the feeling of the orange and yellow leaves crunching under his feet and falling in his hair.

She'd been 16 and absolutely beautiful. Her delicate heart-shaped face, her honey colored hair, her warm brown eyes with flecks of yellow light.

She'd sheepishly showed him her broken leg. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her, as he set the bone and covered her leg in a cast. He'd kept his feelings to himself, of course, trying to be professional. But he hadn't been able to ignore the sweet smiles she had given him, looking up at him through her eyelashes, and the pretty cherry-colored flush in her cheeks. The way the crisp fall air smelled the same as her skin.

She'd been too young for him, then. And he couldn't possibly fall in love with a human. It was the definition of wrong, and he knew the rules. So he'd made sure it was the last time to ever see her. He thought of her, every now and then, but not seriously enough to do something about it. He remembered her name- Esme.

It saddened him seeing her broken body, more than he'd expected to be sad. She was still beautiful, even in death. He was a little appalled at himself for thinking this, for visualizing a corpse this way, and turned to Edward, hoping he hadn't been paying attention.

Edward was politely looking in the other direction, and Carlisle knew he had heard.

Then he became aware of a sound. It was faint, but unmistakable. The sound of something that should not be in a room full of dead bodies and two vampires. It was a heartbeat.

This girl wasn't dead.

"She's alive," Carlisle said to Edward, a little breathlessly.

Edward shook his head, seeing the plan as it formed in Carlisle's mind. "No, Carlisle, I don't see how that would work."

"I can't just leave her here. There's no hope for her to survive, of course, but I can't just wait for her to die."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, a gesture that always calmed him. "Carlisle," he said in a strained voice. "This really isn't the best idea."

"Please, Edward."

Edward heard the desperation in his voice, saw the infatuation with this girl in his mind. Carlisle didn't ask for much. And however outrageous this request was, Edward knew he couldn't deny him. He sighed. "If it's what you want."

So as Esme's heartbeat became fainter and fainter, they zipped her up in a body bag and ran, leaving everything they owned in this town and disappearing.

They found a cabin, deep in the woods, and the smell of human was so faint it could barely be detected. They knew they wouldn't be found.

Esme's heartbeat was almost gone now, and Carlisle knew he needed to act quickly. He slid the bag off of her and laid her on the table, and swiftly grasped her neck with his teeth, sending a flood of venom through her veins.

She was silent, not yet conscious enough to respond to the pain, the fire that burned within her.

But within hours she was writing and convulsing, crying out and begging to die. She called out the name of her son several times, and her arms had reached out, as if for an invisible child.

It painted Carlisle to see her like this, more deeply than he'd ever thought himself capable of feeling.

Three days later, she stopped screaming. Her injuries had faded completely, her bones had repaired themselves. Her skin was a perfect milky white, smooth and unblemished. Her hair was still matted and tangled, but the caramel color had brightened.

As Carlisle hovered anxiously over her, breathing in her scent, the smell of autumn, she opened her eyes.

They were red as expected, the bloodlust was evident. But there was still the little yellow sparkle, behind the crimson.

Esme smiled.

And for the first time in two hundred and fifty-eight years, Carlisle Cullen felt warm.

**x x x**

**Review, please!! It's really easy!**


	13. Heartbeat

Short little Edward/Bella drabble

**Thanks so much for the sudden onslaught (ha- I love that word) of reviews! xoxo**

**GAH. Okay. I just noticed that the Breaking Dawn Quote of the Day in chapter 2 (Excellent and Excellent v. 2.0) is like the EXACT same as one in Eclipse (pg 268). And Alice's response is like the exact same too. That was totally unintentional, and I didn't mean to infringe on Stephenie Meyer's creative genius. **

**Little bit of Edward/Bella stuff. Not really fluff, but pretty cool nonetheless. :) This is another one of my favorites!**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella/Edward**

**x x x**

**Heartbeat**

He remembered the first time he'd been close to her, how he'd leaned his head into her chest, listening to the thump-thump of the organ that pumped warm blood through her delicate body.

Her heart was erratic, that time. It hammered away madly in her chest, speeding up so much he feared she was having a heart attack. He'd been _worried,_ then.

It beat steadily, usually. He always heard it, he was always listening. Her heart beating was like music to him. It seemed to beat _for him, _only him_. _It was the sound of Bella, accompanying and accenting her scent.

The eccentric staccato pounding of her heart was reserved for times when he kissed her, times when he didn't want to let go. And he would listen as it hammered frantically, until it slowed and returned to the stable, even beat.

It wasn't long before he began to feel it.

When he kissed her hungrily, their chests pressed together, the rapid disjointed beating of her heart seemed to transfer from within her to within him.

When they walked hand in hand, he felt the steady pounding of her heart in her fingertips, tapping against his until it seemed as if her heart was beating inside of him, too.

Like he had a heartbeat.

Like he had a heart.


	14. Surprise!

Bella and I sat in her living room, pretending to watch TV with Charlie

**Kind of random, Edward's POV. I don't know how much I like this one, but I think the writing is pretty good.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella/Edward, Charlie**

**x x x**

**Surprise!**

Bella and I sat in her living room, pretending to watch TV with Charlie. He was caught up in some ball game. As far as I was concerned, they were all relatively the same. You could only see so many games of baseball before they clumped together into one gigantic, snore-inducing blur.

Well, if vampires could snore.

Bella seemed engrossed by the game as well, but I couldn't ever tell with her. She was never interested in baseball before. I think she felt guilty that she would be leaving Charlie soon and was trying to spend as much time as possible bonding with him.

So of course that meant I would be there, too. Charlie definitely didn't appreciate it; he was always thinking of elaborate plans to get me out of the house. Sometimes they were so complex, I was surprised that he'd come up with them on his own.

Excuse me. That was rude. I shouldn't be insulting the intelligence of my fiancé's dad, also known as my future father-in-law.

This game was rather boring. Usually I would read Charlie's thoughts, but they were fully concentrated on the game, nothing interesting.

_I wonder why Edward's here... What a catch! That was classic! Great!_

Lame.

I slid my eyes over, gazing at Bella. God, I could stare at her forever. Her eyes, her hair, her smile. She was beautiful. I smiled slightly as she laid her head against my shoulder, eyes still staring at the TV screen. Her scent was perfect, delicious. And the fact that it was _Bella_ made me not even want to drink her blood.

I needed a way to distract myself.

I snuck a glance at Charlie. Still staring at the TV. I quickly turned Bella's face to mine and kissed her. She jumped slightly, but relaxed as I deepened the kiss. I quickly pulled away and looked in the opposite direction as Charlie turned to look at us.

He gave us a strange look, due to the fact that Bella's brain hadn't quite registered we were done kissing and was still facing the back of my head with her eyes closed.

But he forgot about it as something happened in the baseball game that captured his attention once again.

Once again, Charlie was paying us no attention. I leaned in, placed my lips against her ear. She flinched in surprise, but didn't say anything. I flicked my tongue out then, running it up and down the soft skin. She shut her eyes and smiled, obviously forgetting that Charlie was even in the room.

"Hey!" Bella protested as I pulled away; Charlie was watching again.

Then she blushed as Charlie gave her a strange look. "You okay, Bells?"

"Er, yeah." She mumbled, glaring at me. I smirked. Teasing Bella was funny.

It went on like that for awhile, until the game finally flicked to a commercial.

"Tune in to the E! True Hollywood Story: 50 Nastiest Celebrity Divorces," blared some bleached-blonde woman whose clothing was so tight it appeared to be suffocating her.

Charlie shook his head. "I don't know why people can't just stay married," he mumbled, sort of to us, sort of to himself. "You're lucky you won't have to worry about marriage for awhile, eh, Bella?" He chuckled. He wasn't really expecting a response.

Bella froze, but Charlie didn't notice. "Um," she said, biting her lip. She couldn't lie.

Suddenly, I had an idea. Bella would hate me for it, but probably only for a minute. Anyway, this needed to be done at some point. My eyes lit up and my lips twitched into a smirk.

Bella saw it and immediately gathered what I was going to say. She stared at me. "Don't. Do. This," she hissed, but she saw my resolve. She stood up quickly. "I'm going to... wash my hair!" she called, obviously blurting the first thing that came to mind as she very nearly ran from the room.

"Actually, Sir," I began.

"Hmm?" Then he thought. He remembered the last thing he'd said- _marriage. _My contradiction. Bella disappearing. He made the connection. Charlie's eyes bugged out, as he whirled around to face me. "WHAT?" His mind was going crazy. _This is a joke. Is she PREGNANT? She's too young to be married! I bet she's pregnant. She's marrying HIM? That bastard! I hate him! BELLA IS NOT GETTING MARRIED._

"I've asked Bella to marry me," I said, grinning like a crazy person. Maybe I was crazy, but if it felt like this, what did it matter?

I heard Bella groan in the other room and imagined she was hyperventilating. I wished I could go calm her down, but I don't think Charlie would take very well to me announcing our engagement and running away.

"And what... has she said?" Charlie asked, trying to stay calm, but I could see him seething. His face was turning a rather unattractive shade of red.

"To my good fortune, she has agreed."

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" Charlie shouted, jumping up from his chair.

"Soon to be Cullen!" I said in a sing-song voice. Bella reappeared in the room, and she and Charlie shot me identical glares.

"You're- marry- asked- He-he's lying, right?" Charlie stuttered, his eyes bugging out of his head.

"Um, no," Bella said, wincing. "Surprise!"

**x x x**

**So. I feel like Edward would have asked Charlie for permission to marry Bella first, but I'm not so good with Charlie's personality and I was too lazy to think that hard about it, so I didn't do that. (I think it would have come out too cliché, as in "Grr-Edward-I-hate-you-but-okay—Bella-if-this-is-what-you-want-I-love-you.") Plus I liked that surprise line. Haha.**

**Soo... review!! **


	15. Your Star

Sort of angsty

**Sort of angsty-ish drabble. I kinda like it. I'm horrible at writing drabbles because I feel like I can't get an idea across in so little words. Here's an attempt. Enjoy! **

**Lyrics are from Your Star by Evanescence. There are going to be a TON of song-based ones soon because I've taken to putting iTunes on shuffle and writing a story based on whatever comes on. Haha.**

Characters/Pairings: Edward

**x x x**

**Your Star**

**And I'm alone now,  
Me and all I stood for.**

He looked up at the sky, at the array of bright lights shining down on him. Plenty of stars, but no moon.

Funny. The moon had always been out when she was with him.

He scanned the sky again, looking for Sirius. The brightest star in the sky, the one that had always reminded him of her.

She was the star that led him out of the darkness and into the radiance of her life.

Usually it was the first one he spotted, but tonight, no matter where he looked, it didn't seem to be there.

He couldn't find her star.

**  
I can't see your star.  
How can the darkness feel so wrong?**


	16. Crime Does Pay

This is from Crime Does Pay by the Hourly Radio

**This is from Crime Does Pay by The Hourly Radio. Once again, a song from shuffled iTunes.**

**Characters/Pairings: Edward/Bella**

**x x x**

**Crime Does Pay**

She was dead, officially.

Her eyes were closed and her body was still. He could no longer hear the sound of heart, pounding away in her chest. Something had been lost from the appeal of her scent- there was no blood calling to him.

At least she'd stopped screaming. It had nearly killed him as well, watching her there, her cries ripping into him and sending waves of suffering throughout his body. Seeing her writhing and in pain from something _he had caused _almost sent him over the edge.

_Thou shall not kill._

He'd committed a sin, one of many.

One more self-centered transgression.

It could possibly be worth it. Taking away her life and for what?

His own selfishness? His desire to give her anything?

He closed his eyes for a moment, clasped the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

Then he heard a small sound, sort of a sigh, and her delicate but colorless eyelids fluttered open, revealing the blood red irises beneath.

And suddenly there was nothing remotely immoral with his wrongdoing. There was nothing but her and the fact that he would have her _forever._

And before she could react he was leaning over her and kissing her hungrily, no longer concerned with breaking her, hurting her.

He moved his lips to her neck and another sound escaped her lips.

"Edward," she breathed happily.

He wondered briefly how she could be so excited to be dead, to no longer have a life or a heart or a _soul._

But then her finger tangled in his hair as she pulled him closer and he realized he didn't care.

_Crime does pay._

**x x x**

**So whatdja think?? Review, review, review!**


	17. Sweetest Perfection

Not sure how much I like this one

**Not sure how much I like this one. Eh. I like the idea of Jake and Leah as a couple, but I don't think they could imprint- because imprinting is that whole idea of love at first sight, and they've seen each other plenty.**

**Characters/Pairings: Leah/Jacob**

**x x x **

**The Sweetest Perfection**

She was a terror, she was vicious, demanding, and malicious.

Yet sweet and soft as she kissed him, always warm, a fire in his arms.

She was Leah.

There for distraction, nothing more. He told himself that, over and over.

What they did each night, it was to keep him from thinking of _her._

Not an imprint, never that.

A pastime. Something to keep him busy.

Leah knew it too, he thought. He'd made it clear.

She said she didn't care. Didn't care that he was using her. She was using him, for the same reason.

They understood each other. They kept each other sane.

Most of the time they fought, carelessly throwing insults they knew would hurt. And they did hurt, every time.

But they always found each other at night. It was where they needed to be. Even though this would never be permanent, both of them knew, it was enough for the time being.

And so it continued.

It scared them, they were complete, this pattern effortless, it would repeat.

**x x x**

**I feel like that rhyming thing is kind of retarded, but whatever. P**

**Review, please please please!**


	18. You Are My Life Now

**This was originally a poem, but I sort of suck at poetry, so I re-did it in normal format. But anyway, here's the scene in Twilight where Bella first says "I love you" to Edward in her sleep (pg 312-314) from Edward's POV. All quotes are from Twilight, copyright Stephenie Meyer!**

**I apologize if this sucks/is confusing, because I was half asleep while writing this.**

**ALSO! I would LOVE 2+ reviews for every chapter! Please? Reviews inspire me. :)**

**x x x**

**You Are** **My Life Now**

I watch her sleep.

I've done it before, but never this close. Never with an invitation. Never touching her. It feels better, knowing that she knows, knowing that _she wants me here._

She breathes evenly against me, my arms around her waist. I sigh, almost blissfully, her hair over my face. It's slightly torturous, with her scent so potent to me, and the aching in the back of my throat is almost too much to bear.

I should move away. I can't put her in this kind of danger. But the feeling of her body against mine is too perfect, and I can't give it up. So I endure it.

Suddenly she turns, her face slightly angled towards mine, and she sighs. Her cool, sweet breath rushes across my face, making me tense, and I grasp that I can't stay this close for any longer. I need to sit across the room in the rocking chair. It's strange for a girl her age to have, but somehow it fits, it seems like Bella.

But suddenly she makes a noise, my name.

"Edward," she whispers.

"Yes, love?" I worry- did I wake her?

But she doesn't respond, and I realize she's still asleep.

"Edward," she says again. I gently let go of her, slide my arms from around her. Somehow, this hurts more than the thirst I'm containing in my throat. She settles over on her back, I hover over her, watching her again. A smile turns the corners of her soft mouth upward, and I feel another craving, one that I can't control. I quickly press my lips to hers, holding my breath, and then back away to the window.

I won't be gone for long, just long enough to get back a hold of the self control that her presence seems to dissolve. I turn and give her a longing look, staring at her for a minute longer. Her lips are moving, and I lean forward to listen.

"I love you, Edward," she says so quietly, I'm sure I must have imagined it.

But she says it again, louder this time. "Edward, I love you."

I breathe in deeply, and suddenly, _I am alive._ I have never felt anything this close to ecstasy before, even as a human, and I don't know how I've survived this long without it. So many emotions overtake me, and all of them good. I want to wake her up and tell her I love her, I want to hold her forever, I want to do something crazy.

_She loves me_.

And although I deserve nothing of the sort, for once I push this feeling away.

But I realize I need to hunt, just quickly, and I need to change my clothes. So I hop out the window and into the forest, attacking the first large animal I can see until I no longer feel cravings. I rush home, but it's only been ten minutes.

"Where have _you_ been?" my siblings tease me as I stumble upstairs to my room. "What's gotten in to _you_?"

I feel myself grinning stupidly, but I honestly don't care. I am drunk off of these feelings, and I refuse to make them go away. I shrug into the first clean clothes I can find before rushing out the front door again and back towards her house.

I jump back in through the window and sit in the rocking chair, content to watch her for hours until she wakes up.

And when her eyes finally open, she throws herself at me and I hold her tight. My eyes are still shining and bright, and she can sense that something is different.

"What did you hear?" she asks, wincing slightly.

"You said you loved me." Then I blanch- maybe it was just a dream. Maybe she didn't mean it.

"You knew that already," she says, looking away, and I relax, hold her tighter. I can't possibly fathom why she would be embarrassed about this.

"It was nice to hear, just the same," I say lightly , smiling into her hair.

"I love you," she whispers into my chest, making the empty space where my heart should have been swell once again. She can't possibly understand what I feel when she says that, especially now that she's conscious.

It would take me years to explain this to her, to let her know how much I love her. So I summarize all of the feelings into one sentence.

"You are my life now."

**x x x**

**That line in Twilight really just hit me. I don't know, I think it's just really, really beautiful.**

**Just click the button down there and REVIEW! Thank ya. :)**


	19. Mistake

Thanks so much for the reviews

**Thanks so much for the reviews! :) **

**I've wanted to write this for awhile, but I never got around to it until now. I might expand on it and add more later, but for now, it'll be short. Lyrics are from White Houses by Vanessa Carlton.**

**Characters/Pairings: Renee, Charlie**

**x x x**

**Mistake**

"I can't stand it any longer!" she yells, throwing clothes into a suitcase. She'll probably end up leaving things here, but she can't bring herself to care. Maybe she should just leave everything here. Then she can really forget.

"Renee?" Charlie asks her, surprise in his voice.

How can he be surprised? She seethes. Hasn't he paid enough attention to notice that _this has been building for months?_

"I can't put down any more roots here! I'm getting trapped here, in this stupid boring town! Maybe you're some big police chief, and that's good enough for you. But what about me? I'm _nothing_ here! My life is _nothing_!"

She yanks the zipper on the suitcase violently, then storms into Bella's room. The little girl is wide-eyed, standing up in her crib, wondering what her mother is doing. Renee finds a suitcase in the closet and piles Bella's clothes inside it, along with a few of her books and stuffed animals.

"Come on Bella," she whispers softly as she forces the bag closed. "We're going on a little trip." She lifts her daughter out of the crib and into her arms, then turns to leave.

"You're... taking Bella?" Charlie is in the doorway, staring at her in horror.

She nods curtly. "I think it would be best. Don't think for a minute I want her stuck here, too. Move."

He doesn't, and she shoves past him and down the stairs.

"Why are you doing this?" The look of hurt in his eyes is almost enough to make her want to stay.

But not quite.

"Say good-bye to Daddy," she whispers to Bella in her arms, fighting the tears that have begun to collect in the corners of her eyes.

"Bye?" Bella says softly. She begins to cry, confused and upset.

Charlie glares. "Renee, what the hell are you doing? Putting on some sort of show? A grand exit? Stop being so goddamn dramatic," he yells.

Then he sees Bella, her tears. His voice softens. "Is this really something we should put Bella through? Can we just talk about it?" He tentatively places a hand on her arm.

"Just le me go, Charlie!" Renee screams, shoving his hand away, her eyes pleading with him. "It didn't work out, okay? I HATE it here! I hate Forks!"

And with that, she holds Bella tighter, grabs their two suitcases, and runs out the front door, unable to hold the tears back any longer.

**He's**

**my**

**first**

**mistake.**

**x x x **

**YAY! BREAKING DAWN COMES OUT TONIGHTTT!! WAHHH!**

**Review, please! **


	20. Shocked

**Wow, just read Breaking Dawn... and I don't really know what to say. It was good... but weird.**

**Anyway. BREAKING DAWN SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD.**

**I loved Kate and Garrett! I thought they were adorable. :)**

**Characters/Pairings: Kate/Garrett**

**x x x**

**Shocked**

"I'm sorry!" Garrett pleads, eyes wide.

Kate glares, her expression stony.

"Please forgive me?"

She feels her hard exterior melting, and he can see it, too. He inches toward her, takes her face in his hands. "Please?" he begs again, and touches his lips to hers.

But suddenly he collapses when he feels electricity coursing through his entire body. Kate has concentrated the power in her lips, and it is definitely not on the low setting.

"Goddamnit, Kate!" he curses, hands against his mouth.

"Now you're forgiven," she smirks, pulling him to his feet and kissing him. Shock-free, this time.

**x x x**

**Just a drabble. I'm not really sure what they were fighting about, but I wanted that shock thing to happen at some point when she was mad at him. So I figured I'd make it short and let you decide. :)**


	21. Mirror Leah

Mirror - Leah

**Haha, okay. So I've been running out of ideas, but I feel like I NEED to be writing SOMETHING. So I stumbled upon sillybella's challenge forum! Yay! So, expect lotsa challenges coming up.**

**This one is from nadia the demented one's "when we look in the mirror, what do we see?" challenge.**

**This is set before Breaking Dawn.**

**x x x**

**Mirror - Leah**

Sometimes when Leah Clearwater sees her reflection, she can't look away.

She's pretty, no doubt about that. Wide brown eyes, surrounded by thick black lashes. Short chestnut hair with lighter streaks from the sun, more flattering now than it was when it was long.

And it astounds her, that she can change herself. She can morph her delicate body into something else, into a powerful gray wolf. She feels amazing when she is running alone through the woods, fearless and careless and beautiful.

But then she takes a closer look, and she sees the pain her eyes. The hurt lies in heaps, piled on top of each other and she is about to collapse.

On the very bottom of the pile is Sam's rejection. It cut her deep, and the fact that she has to constantly be around him, under his control, is just salt shoved violently into the wound. No one wants her.

She's seen what it feels like to imprint in the minds of others in the pack- and she wants it so badly. For someone to feel her anchoring them to the ground, for someone to think that she is the center of their universe.

But she doesn't think it'll ever happen.

And way high, on the very top of the stack, is the realization she's come to.

Like this, she will never be normal, she will never be _Leah_ again.

Sometimes when Leah Clearwater sees her reflection, she can't look away fast enough.

**x x x**

**I wrote this really fast, so sorry if it's not so good. I think I'm gonna do another mirror one- Alice's POV.**


	22. Act Your Age

**So I've got a TON of angst saved up. But I thought I'd do something funny for now. :) **

**This is for ****Darthishtar****'s Act Your Age challenge.**

**Characters: Edward**

**x x x**

Edward Cullen hated being a freshman. With a passion.

He sat in a metal chair that didn't look remotely safe (it creaked and wobbled every time he took a breath) in a cafeteria that didn't look remotely clean (there were several sticky dark splotches on the floor that smelled revolting).

Freshman orientation was the worst. At the past few schools, they had done it before school started. Fortunately, that meant antisocial teens such as Edward weren't required to show up. He rather liked it that way.

In Forks, they had orientation on it on the first school day. They herded the group of tiny ninth graders (all shorter than Edward) into the cafeteria and lectured them about classes, sports, grades, counselors, and the like.

Edward looked to his left. As he moved, the brunette next to him immediately looked to the left as well.

Coincidence?

_He's soooo hot. I hope he didn't see me staring._Edward thought not.

_Wait, yes I do. Then he'll know I'm interested! Is he starting at me? _Her eyes slid to the right as far as possible without her actually turning her head. _Darn it, I can't tell. Has he seen what I look like? I just got my haircut, I wonder if he likes it._

The girl went on to picture her and Edward's wedding, with her in some ridiculous dress dripping in sequins and _feathers_ of all things, and Edward wearing nothing at all.

He winced, and turned the other way. On his right was a blonde.

_I will date him, I will date him, I will date him, _she was chanting in her thoughts. She was picturing her and Edward's children: twins. A boy who looked like a miniature version of Edward, and a girl who looked like a miniature version of the blonde.

Suddenly, the blonde began steadily inching towards him. She was rather pleased with herself, because she'd thought he hadn't noticed. Well, she'd gone from about a foot away to two inches away in two seconds flat, so it was rather difficult _not_ to notice.

Edward shifted to the left, but then felt his leg brush the brunette's. Apparently, she thought sitting close to him was a good idea, too.

Great. Just fantastic. Sandwiched between the disturbing fantasies twins? He highly doubted that was by chance.

Sure enough, the brunette was picturing a spectacular shoving match where she'd weaved and darted her way through the crowd of fellow freshman and knocked some poor red-head over in order to sit down in the rickety folding chair next to Edward.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at his feet. Alice had bought him some new pair of sneakers, and he hadn't really looked at them until now. He liked them, he supposed. Blue stripes with a white Nike check. Edward quite liked blue.

Finally, as the librarian continued on with her twenty minute speech on "treating the books with respect," the blonde on his right decided to speak to him.

He heard her sentence forming in her head before she said it aloud. _I need to talk to my future husbaaand! What should I say? It has to be clever and witty, because we'll remember this for the rest of our lives. My name, I need to say that. Hi, no wait, Hey, I'm Lauren. Pretty boring, huh?_"Hey, I'm Lauren," she whispered, flashing him a wide smile. "Pretty boring, huh?"

Edward looked up. "Yes, it is," he replied with as little interest as he could manage. Lauren laughed, though nothing Edward said had been at all funny.

The brunette's jaw dropped. _I can't believe she talked to him first! Oh my god, now what do I say? Something witty and clever. Um... this librarian is boring? No, lame. Hmm, I read an article in a magazine about being honest, and boys like you for that! _

She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned. "I'm Jessica," she said, and smiled. "Are you as nervous as I am?"

Not at all. Just bored, and thirsty.

"Act your age, Edward," hissed Alice from the other side of the room. Edward looked up and locked eyes with her. "Pretend you are! Freshman are _always_ nervous." She smirked.

He glowered. He didn't see any stupid males trying to chat _her_ up and picturing _her _naked.

Then he focused on the thoughts of a blonde boy who was ogling Alice's chest.

Never mind.

Edward squeezed his eyes shut. He _really_ didn't need to see that.

"Yes, I'm nervous," he said to the brunette in a tone that he hoped sounded sheepish and freshman-like. "I just moved here."

"Oh, good, I'm not the only one! We should definitely stick together. You know, then we'll at least know someone." _Smooth, Jess! Nice one. "_What's your class schedule? We can walk each other to classes, and eat lunch together..."

Alice was convulsing in silent laughter.

_Just rip me apart and set me on fire now,_ he thought, and was infinitely glad no one could hear _his _thoughts.

**x x x**

**:) That was fun to write.**

**Review, review, review!**


	23. Why So Serious?

**Haha, okay. So I'm definitely obsessed with the Dark Knight right now.**

**Sorry about the crappiness of this.**

**x x x**

Bella Swan sat on the Cullen's couch, trying to comprehend her calculus homework. She furrowed her brow, gazing intently at the equation.

"Why so serious, Bella?" Emmett asked, suddenly appearing behind her.

Bella screamed and covered her mouth, eyes wide with fear.

Edward was next to her in an instant, his arms around her, rubbing her back. "What the hell did you do, Emmett?" he demanded, clenching his teeth.

Emmett backed up slowly. "Nothing!" he said defensively.

"Sorry," Bella breathed, her heartbeat slowing down ever so slowly. "I just saw 'The Dark Knight.'"

**x x x**

**So, review! :)**


	24. Competition

**I'm not sure how good this is, but I like the ideas/main point of this. Not so much the writing. And I'm not sure how accurate the timeline in this is... but whatever.**

**Characters/Pairings: Leah, Emily**

**x x x**

**Competition**

Everything was a competition between Emily and Leah.

They didn't go so far as to call it that aloud. In fact, they never spoke of it. They were best friends, closest cousins, sisters almost.

But there was always a hint of rivalry brewing between the two that was only evident to them.

When they were younger, it was over silly things.

"Lookit my Barbie, Leah!" Seven-year-old Emily had waved her blonde-haired doll in Leah's face.

Leah had looked down at her Raggedy Ann with disappointment.

And when they were slightly older, over clothes, popularity, friends.

"Wanna sleep over tonight?" Leah had asked, grinning. "We can pig out on brownies and popcorn, and watch a ton of movies."

Emily had rolled her eyes. "Brownies make you _fat, _Leah. I'm on a diet. Anyway, I can't. I have a date!"

Leah looked down at her feet. She'd _never_ had a date.

Next week, she tried again. "Can you sleep over? I've got smoothie mix." This time she was on top of things.

"I wish I could," Emily said, "but I'm going to a party tonight."

"Maybe after?"

"It's gonna go pretty late..."

In most situations, Leah realized, Emily won. Not that she was keeping score. But it just didn't seem _fair._

So when Sam Uley asked Leah out, she thought of it as a small victory. She bragged about him constantly, until finally, she decided to introduce her boyfriend to her cousin.

Biggest mistake of her life.

Leah and Emily had had a horrible fight over it. Leah didn't buy the whole innocent Emily act. "It's not my fault!" Emily would say, tears in her eyes. "I'm really sorry, I know how much he means to you. I'll try to stay away from him, I promise."

"Try to stay away" Leah's ass.

Sam and Emily were never apart. Every time she saw them she wanted to jump into Sam's arms and claw Emily's eyes out.

Emily had been crying and apologetic the whole time.

Until finally, as Leah made a snide comment about boyfriend-stealing best friends, Emily snapped.

"I'm sorry, Leah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know he was your first real boyfriend, and I've tried to sympathize. But you can't keep blaming me for this! He broke up with you, he loves _me!"_

"You didn't have to fall for him! If you were really my best friend, you would have just left him alone!"

"Face it, Leah! _I win."_

Emily had crossed the line. She had brought up the-competition-that-must-not-be-named.

Leah had collapsed into tears as Emily stomped from the room, cursing in her head and wishing thousands of terrible things to happen to Emily.

And they'd stopped speaking.

It had been weeks, verging on a month, when the accident happened.

Leah came home from school to find her mother's face in stunned silence, horror.

"What? What is it, Mommy? Are you okay?"

"Bad news," Sue managed to choke out. "Emily."

Leah's mind raced with possibilities. "Is she okay?" she asked quietly, avoiding the real question- _"Is she dead?"_

"Mauled by a bear," Sue said, tears beginning to stream down her face. "She lost a lot of blood, but she's okay, thank God. But her face... it's disfigured, forever. She was such a pretty girl..." She have Leah a meaningful look. "I know you girls are fighting, but I know it would mean a lot to Emily if you visited her."

But Leah couldn't. She couldn't face Emily. So she waited, and fought with horrible thoughts in her head.

_Doesn't she sort of deserve it, Leah? She did something wrong to you. It's karma. Payback's a bitch, Leah._

No, no, no.

_Why haven't you visited, Leah? To torture her even further? You know it's working._

After two weeks, she gave in. Emily was home from the hospital, but refusing to go to school. She sat in her room, watching TV and not letting anyone see her.

So she stopped at Emily's house after school, cautiously opening the door to Emily's room.

Leah stared at Emily with a sort of fascinated horror, at the scars that ran down the length of her cousin-almost-sister's face. They were puckered and red, scabbing over. Her beautiful face was deformed now, the scars tugged her mouth down into a scowl.

And in the back of her head, the evil nagging voice came back.

_You're the prettier one,_ it hissed. _Who could love her? She's ugly, Leah._

"Leah," Emily whispered, her eyes lighting, and a faint smile pulling up one corner of her disfigured mouth. "You came."

"Oh, Emily, this is horrible," Leah breathed, moisture collecting in the corners of her eyes and finally trickling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry." Sorry for this happened, sorry for their fight.

But her eyes flashed with a sort of satisfaction behind her tears. She was sad for her best friend, she felt awful that it had happened.

But the voice was still there.

_Who was winning _now?

**x x x**

**Yeah, so this was sort of Evil!Leah. Review, please!**


	25. La La Goodnight

x x x

**Eh, kinda depressing. Chapter title and all lyrics are from Losing Sleep by Charlotte Sometimes.**

**Characters/Pairings: Edward/Bella**

**x x x**

**La La Goodnight**

**I've been fighting all my demons  
I've been getting weak 'cause I've been  
Trying, trying, trying to be  
Anything other than me.**

He lies next to her, head propped on his elbow, watching her sleeping figure. She is truly an angel, eyes closed, hair fanning out around her, splayed across her pillow.

She murmurs his name in her sleep, as she often does. "Edward..." He closes his eyes. Her voice makes him feel human, like he has a heart.

He hasn't hunted in awhile, too long, he thinks. But he can't leave this girl alone, can't possibly let any harm come to her.

She rolls over, her face now inches to his. "Mmm." She exhales, and her cool, deliciously sweet breath overtakes him. He is so thirsty, and she is so utterly delectable...

He plunges his teeth into her flesh.

Her eyes fly open and she gasps in surprise. Blood pours from her neck, staining the sheets ruby red.

_Just a taste, just a taste... _

He leans forward, eagerly lapping up the blood that has spilled down her neck.

"Edward?" she asks, voice shaking as he drinks, surprised and scared.

He is a monster.

He jumps up from the bed, backs away from her toward the window.

She is confused, but he can't quite read the expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, before disappearing from the room.

**What a silly dream**

**Silly, silly me**

**To think I had a handle on this.**

**x x x**

**Some of it doesn't really make sense, like why would Edward just leave when Charlie's in the next room and Bella's going to start screaming and stuff, but I didn't want to clutter this up with details. So let's just say Alice is going to come to her rescue, and I'll let you work out how that happens. Haha.**

**So, review! I'll probably update again Sunday. :)**


	26. Music and Car Rides

Ha, so I've got a TON of angst saved up

**This is for my Music 'n' Car Rides challenge. Are you allowed to do your own challenges? Lol. Well, whatever. :)**

**So, for this story- remember that even though it isn't from anyone's POV, Edward can hear everything (except Bella). Then it'll make more sense.**

**Characters/Pairings: Jessica, Mike, Angela, Edward, Bella**

**x x x**

Jessica Stanley bounced up in down in her soft leather seat. She'd never been this excited in her life, what with living in Forks and nothing _ever _happening there. She was actually _inside _of Edward Cullen's car.

She glanced around furtively, checking out the interior. This might actually be the nicest car she'd ever been in. She wanted to scream out of sheer joy, but then realized that was a bit strange, and that she might not be invited back to the car. So she settled for squeezing Mike Newton's hand as hard as she possibly could. Oh, she was going to have the best story tomorrow at lunch. Take _that, _Lauren Mallory.

Mike, on her right, winced slightly. "Ow, Jess," he groaned, tugging his hand out of her death grip.

She giggled slightly. "Sorry," she said, fluttering her eyelashes in a way she hoped was girly and innocent.

Mike didn't even notice, because Bella Swan had turned around from her spot in the front seat to face them. "You okay?" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Mike said in a way that he hoped was tough. "It's nothing." He glanced at Edward Cullen, who was sitting stoically in the front seat. He was so freaking lucky to have Bella, and he didn't even know it.

Jessica squeezed his hand again. Oh, yeah. Mike had a girlfriend. He'd forgotten for a minute.

"Your car is amazing, Edward!" Jessica gushed. "You get to ride in this _every day, _Bella? How awesome is _that?"_

Bella sighed. "Er, very awesome." She locked eyes with Angela Weber, who sat on Jessica's left.

Angela bit her lip, trying not to laugh as an unspoken thought passed between her and Bella. Angela loved Jessica, she really did. But Jessica was... well, Jessica. She liked attention, and she liked when a lot of people gave her attention at once. And in Edward's car, with four people surrounding her, it was the perfect opportunity.

"Seatbelts on?" Edward asked, turning around to check.

"Uh, yeah..." Mike raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. What, did Edward think they were completely incompetent?

Mike looked down. Oh.

He quickly snapped his seatbelt into place.

At least it was too quiet for Edward to hear. Hopefully no one else noticed.

Mike thought he heard a snort from the driver's seat, but figured he was wrong as Edward expertly maneuvered the car out of its parking space and began driving towards the parking lot exit.

Man, this was an awesome car. Mike would do _anything_ for a car that ran this smoothly.

"Can we listen to the radio?" Jessica asked, flashing an angelic smile. "Please, Edward?"

Edward squeezed his eyes shut. This was going to be a long car ride.

Bella poked him on the shoulder and gave him a meaningful look. _It's only for a little bit! _Her eyes seemed to plead with him.

Or at least he thought so. He really didn't know.

Oh, the things he did for his Isabella.

He flicked a button and music filled the car.

"_-Late night you make me feel like I'm desperate! I'm not desperate-"_

Jessica sat up a little straighter. "I love this song!" she screeched.

"_-A little bit possessive, little miss obsessive, can't get over it-"_

"Ashlee Simpson? No." Edward jammed the button again. A little bit too hard, Bella thought, but the car went silent.

Jessica folded her arms. What was wrong with Ashlee Simpson? Anyway, "Little Miss Obsessive" should be Edward's theme song. He was the most neurotic, possessive-borderline-stalker she'd ever met.

Edward glared into the rearview mirror and stepped harder on the gas.

"Uhh... we're going kind of fast..." Angela spoke up timidly. She peered around to look at the speedometer, where the needle was quickly making its way past 60 miles per hour. "I think the speed limit around here is 35."

"I like to drive fast," Edward said curtly, but with a look from Bella, the car slowed down to 40.

"What can this baby go up to?" Mike asked excitedly. The fastest his car had _ever_ gone was 60, and something had blown up under the hood after he'd pushed it up to 61.

"Pretty high."

"Let's not test it," Bella advised in a way that sounded more like a command than suggestion.

"Can we listen to something else, then?" Jessica grumbled, still a bit put off about Ahslee Simpson. She examined her nails. The red nail polish was chipping, and she made a mental note to schedule a manicure later that week.

Edward sighed. Anything to drown out of the sound of Jessica debating between nail polish colors. "Fine." He pressed the button again, flipping rapidly through stations until he appeared to have found one he liked, his hands settling back on the steering wheel.

"_-it's too late to change events, it's time to face the consequence-"_

"What _is _this?" Jessica wrinkled her nose.

Edward was about to reply, when Angela cut him off. "Depeche Mode," she said matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Circa 1990."

"You like Depeche Mode?" Edward twisted around to look at her, a small hint of surprise on his face.

"Yeah, you too? Most people in Forks have never even heard of them." Angela grinned.

"I have... shall we say, _good_ taste in music. What song is your favorite?"

"Definitely 'Just Can't Get Enough' from 'Speak & Spell.' That's their best album, in my opinion."

Edward frowned and shook his head. "'Violator' is better. It has more... substance. 'Speak & Spell' is too much like bubbly eighties pop."

"Ah, so you like the darker stuff. I'm more upbeat," Angela smiled. Who knew Edward Cullen had good taste in music? Actually, who knew Edward Cullen even _liked _music?

Edward smirked.

"_-'never again' is what you swore, the time before-"_

"Hello? Can we please change it?_ Gawd._ I'm gonna go home and, like, slit my wrists or something!" Jessica moaned. This was such a depressing song. Who was Depeche Mode, anyway?

Edward rolled his eyes and pressed the "seek" button.

"_-you'll probably move right through me on my way to you!"_

Mike, who had been bewildered for the past two songs, finally spoke up. "Oh, Finger Eleven," he said nodding in approval and grinning. See, Bella? He knew about music, too!

Jessica smiled with glee at Mike. Was this alternative rock? Ooh, her boyfriend was such a rebel! She wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his side.

Edward flipped the station.

"Hey!" Mike protested.

Edward rolled his eyes. "That song is repetitive, unintelligent, and really makes no sense."

There was a sudden burst of guitars and drums and bass.

"_-don't wanna see your face, you better disappear-"_

"'Beat It!'" Angela said, smiling.

Once again, the music station changed. "Michael Jackson's is better," Edward explained as he flipped through stations.

Angela shrugged. "Touché."

"_-huts of New Mexico. Cut his teeth on turquoise harmonicas, oh, oh, oh-"_

"This is good," Mike said, trying to redeem himself.

"Who is it?" Bella asked from the front. She sort of liked this song, too.

"Vampire Weekend."

The car lurched suddenly. Bella and Edward exchanged a look, and Bella switched the station without comment.

_Weird,_ thought Angela, Mike, and Jessica simultaneously, but none said anything.

A good choice. Edward commended them in his head.

"_-if heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied-"_

"Is Death Cab good all around?" Edward glanced at the back seat, and to Bella next to him. It was obscure enough for him, alternative enough for Angela, popular enough for Jessica, and suitably emo-alt-punk enough for Mike. And Bella liked whatever Edward liked.

Mike, Angela, and Jessica nodded.

"_-fear is the heart of love, so I never went back-"_

They sat in a comfortable silence until the song ended and the station began playing some god-awful Madonna.

"'Ray of Light' was her best album," Angela said. "This... not so much."

Edward winced in agreement and turned the dial on the dashboard.

"_-and it's sad but true, the sounds that don't come back-"_

"Oh, 90's Spoon is the best!"

"Ewww, how can you guys _listen to this?"_ Jessica made a face that involved scrunching up her nose and sticking out her tongue.

And so it began again.

Edward sighed.

Once again, this was going to be a long car ride.

**x x x**

**Songs (in order):**

"Little Miss Obsessive" by Ashlee Simpson

"**Policy of Truth" by Depeche Mode**

"**Paralyzer" by Finger11**

"**Beat It" by Fall Out Boy**

**  
"A-punk" by Vampire Weekend**

"**I Will Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie**

"**June's Foreign Spell" by Spoon**

**I like all of these songs except Paralyzer.**

**I do love Madonna. Quite a bit. I'm going to her concert with my dad and I'm so pumped! Haha.**

**So, hopefully this was all believable, and I didn't make Jessica too annoying, and the songs Edward liked seemed like songs Edward would like. :)**

**And I'm not really sure why they were all in the car. Maybe Edward was giving them a ride home, or something. Idk. Just make something up. :)**


	27. Never

"They're back," I told her

**This is a one shot I wrote for the August Twilight Novel Novice Challenge. I got a runner-up on there, which I am really excited about! :) It was to write a scene from Breaking Dawn from someone else's POV. This is the scene where Rosalie helps Bella get ready for the wedding.**

**Characters/Pairings: Rosalie, Bella, Alice**

**x x x**

**Never**

I glanced at myself in the mirror hanging just outside Alice's room. It was one of my favorites, the reflective surface framed by winding strands of metal curved into delicate vines.

Mirrors could be my best friend or my worst enemy, depending on what I felt.

Today it was a mix.

It was Bella and Edward's _wedding. _A beautiful day, a happy one. And I was radiant, in a silver gown and silver stilettos, my hair shining and golden. In the sunlight, every inch of me would sparkle.

It was exciting, because it would make both of them so happy. And my shallow needs were fulfilled because I got to dress up.

But what would follow today concerned me the most. No one seemed to understand that Bella could notbecome _this_. She would regret it, I knew she would.

Even with Emmett, even with my family, I _still _can't bring myself to fully love this life. I would have been better off in New York, marrying Royce and having little babies that looked just like us. If only, if only that night way back when hadn't happened.

I pulled my eyes away from the image of myself in the mirror as the front door opened and Edward, Emmett and Jasper clomped in, back from their hunting trip.

"Boys, please help finish setting up outside!" I heard Esme tell them.

Emmett ignored her and bounded up the stairs. He took me in his arms and kissed me gently on the lips, grinning hugely at me. "You look beautiful, Rosalie Hale," he whispered in my ear, and I smiled back. I gazed into his eyes and he into mine, thousands of unspoken and thoughts and desire coursing between us.

Downstairs, Edward groaned. "_Emmet and Rosalie."_

Emmett laughed, loud and booming. "You're the one getting married, Edward! You better get used to it." He hopped back downstairs, the sound of his voice trailing off after him as he went outside.

"Go check on Alice and Bella," Esme called up the stairs, softness and pleading in her voice. She understood my uneasiness s, to some extent. But she was better off here, with us and with Carlisle.

But Esme wanted so badly for her family to be whole today, to put aside anything that we disliked, and to just be there for Bella and for Edward. And I knew it.

So I sighed and gently pushed open the door to Alice's room.

My sister hovered over an uncomfortable-looking Bella, dabbing makeup beneath her eyes, tapping it gently into the pale skin with her fingertips.

Bella looked at me in awe, with a sort of insecure jealousy that I had loved when I was human. It validated me to make me feel more beautiful that other girls, to know that I had something they didn't and that they wanted.

Now it just made me feel sad, because _she _had something _I _wanted. Something I could never have.

"They're back," I told Alice, and watched the self-consciousness immediately leave Bella's eyes. She loved my brother, she truly did.

"Keep him out of here!" Alice screeched, whisking a black pencil swiftly across Bella's eyelids.

I rolled my eyes. Alice could be quite the dramatist. But I pushed away my urge to snap at her. "He won't cross you today," I said lightly and smirked. "He values his life too much. Esme's got them finishing things up out back."

I took a breath, and then forged onward. "Do you want some help?" I asked hesitantly. "I could do her hair." She would be my sister soon, and sisters helped each other get ready.

Bella's jaw dropped open. I smiled at her, but inside I felt a pang of unhappiness. Did she really think I hated her that much? That I would be horrible to her forever? I wished she could understand what I felt, that she could possibly have some idea of the mistake she would be making.

"Sure," Alice said after a small pause that Bella appeared not to notice. "You can start braiding. I want it intricate. The veil goes here, underneath." She gathered and twisted Bella's hair as she spoke, demonstrating what she wanted me to do.

I nodded and began to braid and twist, pinning and coiling a complex plait on Bella's head. Her hair was soft like butter and smelled beautiful, strawberries and flowers in a meadow.

I finally finished the up-do, and Alice nodded her consent. "Gorgeous," I whispered, but it might have been too quietly for Bella to hear.

"Can you go get her dress?" Alice asked. "It's in my closet."

I nodded and left the room. I found the garment bag easily, but paused before returning to Alice. This was hard to take in.

My weddings to Emmett had been amazing, and perfect, and everything I'd wanted when I was human.

But Bella's would be _better. _She had friends, and family, and people to invite. People to fuss over her, to plan every overwhelming detail. She had a mother to help her get ready, a father to walk her down the aisle.

I stared at the floor. I didn't think the sadness and grief in my eyes could be detected, but I needed a minute to pull myself together nonetheless.

After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and headed back down the hall. I silently handed Alice the dress and helped Bella stay balanced as we zipped her into it.

She was a beautiful bride.

But her shoulders scrunched slightly, one arm hugging the other, teeth pressing gently against her bottom lip.

How could she be nervous, looking like that? How could she be anxious when she was about to marry someone that loved her that much?

Alice looked at me, my eyes locked on Bella. Bella's eyes were locked on the floor. "Can you go get Jasper?" Alice asked me gently. "See if he's back with Renee and Phil."

I nodded. "Yes, I think I heard the door open. I'll send Renee up." I turned to leave, but paused in the doorway.

I gave Bella one last lingering look, her small fragile frame wrapped in the white wedding gown covered in intricate details. The subtle makeup on her face, the way her hair was draped and braided around her head, framing her face and accentuating her features. The expression of excitement and nervousness on her face and the brightness in her eyes.

She was so completely _human _right now.

Perfect in a way that I could never be.

_Silly girl, wide brown eyes __  
__Stupid mistakes, don't you know __  
__What you're giving up?_

**x x x**

**Review, please!**


	28. What You Need

This definitely isn't her crowd

**So, yeah. I feel bad for Leah. I feel bad for Mike. So, I put 'em together.**

**Haha. This is the most RANDOM pairing ever, but I wanted Leah to imprint on someone and I feel bad about creating new characters. So, I just pulled up Mike. I was thinking of maybe even going Leah/Jessica or Leah/Angela or something, but I decided not to. But feel free to switch Mike's name for Jessica's when you're reading. :) Enjoy.**

**Oh btw- What You Need is by Tyler Kyte.**

**Characters/Pairings: Leah/Mike**

**x x x**

**What You Need**

This definitely wasn't Leah's crowd.

But tonight she didn't care.

Tonight she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into this, to match every beat of her heart with the beats of the base. She needed to forget about how badly her life sucked right now, forget all of the crap that made her absolutely insane.

She began with a drink. A shot of tequila in a little glass. She stared at the liquid, wrinkling her nose as the bitter scent of the alcohol burned it, before tossing her head back and dumping the contents down her throat. She knew that it wasn't nearly enough to make her drunk (she wondered briefly how many shots she would have to down in order to intoxicate herself. Ten? Twenty?), but it was standard procedure here.

Just for kicks, she ordered another.

And as that one joined the first in a pointless flash of burning in her throat, she asked the bartender for a strawberry margarita.

This one she sipped slowly, enjoying the sweet taste that slightly canceled out the smell of the alcohol. And she had an excuse now, to sit on the bar stool and observe.

She wouldn't admit it, but she'd never been to a nightclub before. In the two years since she'd turned eighteen, she'd never felt the pull that other kids her age did. Really, it was rather idiotic, in her opinion. What a way to show maturity: dancing around with little-to-no clothes on, forcing as much alcohol into your bloodstream as possible. It wasn't Leah's cup of tea.

Speaking of tea. The margarita wasn't tea either, but she wasn't letting that stop her.

She gazed out at the crowd, not quite ready to dance yet. She let her eyes sweep along every person, every shape and movement. The smell of sweat was overpowering, but behind it was something sweeter. She imagined that if excitement had a smell, this was it. There was an appealing buzz emanating from the crowd before her, some deep sort of vibration that was simply _intriguing. _It pulled Leah in, so much so that it was weakening her physically. She quickly emptied her glass and slammed it on the bar, standing up with a sureness in herself and a resolve in her mind: _she would forget._

So she catapulted her self in between bodies and soon she was moving to some kind of beat that her heart automatically connected with. It sent out orders, telling her arms and legs what to do and how her muscles should move. She'd never thought of herself as much of a dancer, but all doubts she'd ever had were swept away as she moved.

Her motions were not so much thought out, or deliberate, but rather she was simply going along with the song and with what felt natural. Her hips matched the pounding of the drums; her arms the guitars. And she wasn't aware of anything but herself and how she responded to the animalistic call of the music.

Dancing was a bit like hunting, she reasoned. It required pure instinct.

And suddenly, this pull grew stronger, leading her towards a gap in the crowd that flung her out of the circle and into empty air. She leaned against a wall, panting; surprised at how much energy had been sucked out of her.

But she wanted to go back. She found a bottle of water and chugged it, not caring if it was already open. Her way-too-high body temperature would kill any bacteria instantly. She let her gaze slip back over the bodies and people. And finally it stopped, and though she tried, couldn't pull away.

A group of kids- two guys and two girls- stood semi-awkwardly in the doorway. Judging from the anticipation in their eyes and how young they looked, Leah guessed they had just turned eighteen and were eager to partake in their first nightclub experience. But that wasn't what Leah stared at.

It was one of the boys, the blonde one, that kept her riveted.

She'd been strong earlier- she had done her best to ignore everything except here and now and she would stress about it later. But at this moment, she felt no need to call the memories back. She would be content forever just staring at the boy, just being near him. She had an overwhelming urge to touch him, to feel the heat from his skin against hers.

And then with a jolt that shook her head and froze her body, she realized _it_ had finally happened.

Leah Clearwater had imprinted.

She tried to step back, and look at him without the bias she had apparently just gained. She snorted as she took in his artfully ripped and faded jeans, and the navy blue polo with the moose in the corner. She finally imprinted, and it was on the poster boy for "clean-cut-and-wholesome."

She'd bet on her life he drank milk at dinner and did his homework every day, always turned it in on time. She'd bet that he cut the lawn for his dad every Saturday and vacuumed the living room for his mom. He was probably the king of school spirit and friends with everyone.

But she couldn't hold back any longer and abruptly decided that Abercrombie & Fitch was her new favorite brand.

She stared awhile longer, before she decided that maybe she should _do _something about this. Why the hell not?

Rays of jealously practically impaled her as the brunette next to the boy snaked an arm around his waist (Leah noted with satisfaction that the boy looked somewhat uncomfortable). Leah marched over.

He blinked as he saw her walk, and blinked faster when she stopped in front of him.

"Hey," she said, and wanted to kick herself. Not exactly a killer opening line.

She gave him a minute to take her in. He'd obviously never seen a girl like her before- someone who dared to cut her hair short, who wore clothes without labels.

She worried momentarily that she looked a tad whore-ish. Her jeans were relatively tight (inherited from a cousin who was apparently a skinny Amazon goddess; Leah had been practically swimming in them when she'd first tried them on).

But since she'd first phased, she'd grown, and now they fit her quite nicely. Her top, a piece of fabric she'd wrapped around her torso and safety pinned into place, was short and exposed a good three inches of skin along her midriff. She hadn't been shopping since she'd changed, and now barely any of her clothes fit. She had to make due with what she could.

She needn't have worried, though, because the brunette wore a tiny purple minidress with translucent black leggings, and the blonde took her similar ensemble a step further by skipping the leggings altogether

Leah rolled her eyes as the boy collected himself and the girl tightened her grip around his body.

"H-hi," he mumbled.

Leah shot the girl a look. "Let's dance," she said to the boy, and held out her hand.

He hesitated, but then took it, shrugging out of the girl's clutches. "See you later, Jess," he said, before Leah pulled him away and into the mass of people.

She tossed her arms carelessly around his neck, leaned into him, ground her hips against his. He held her waist awkwardly, obviously not used to someone like her, someone so fearless and powerful and womanly.

That's what she was- a _woman._ Leah snuck a glance at Jessica. She was a girl- trying to be older, trying to act mature, but really she was a teenager playing dress up. Nothing compared to Leah.

But finally he relaxed into it, and they were moving together, bodies fitting perfectly.

Leah chucked when she saw him glance over at his friend, eyes wide open in awe, shaking his head incredulously.

"Dude!" the brown-haired friend mouthed. "I'd tap that!"

Leah shot him a look, eyebrow raised in mock surprise, mouth twisted into a smirk. She shouldn't have been able to hear him from here, and she could have been making that face for a number of reasons, but the friend blushed furiously and turned away.

She grinned and turned back to the boy- and she realized she didn't even know his name.

"I'm Leah," she whispered softly and slowly into his ear, sending shivers through his body.

"Mike," he whispered gruffly back, and she grinned as he pretended to be calm and collected, but she could hear his heart thudding a couple times faster than normal. Hers was as well, matching the pace of his and bringing them closer and closer.

A slower song faded on, the pulsing lights dimmed, the vibrations of the floor slowed.

She wasn't quite as tall as him, and she leans into this chest, face pressed to his neck. His arms held her tightly, his cheek pressed to the top of her head. Her arms locked around his neck tightly, trapping him to her and she didn't want to let go.

They swayed gently, and she was completely unaware of anything except feeling whole, and complete, and that if she lost her _Mike,_ her existence would simply end. It would disappear completely.

Maybe soon she'd introduce him to her family, and her friends. Maybe she'd tell him she's a werewolf. Maybe she'd let him in on all the crap in her life.

But now she was wrapped up in the scent of _Mike,_ something woodsy and clean-cut at the same time. Everything seemed perfect enough to last her a lifetime, or at least until she was ready to deal with anything outside of her and Mike just holding each other.

**x x x**

**I really like this one! I think it's like... descriptive without being over the top. Or something. Idk. **

**  
Except I don't like the last part of the last line. It's kind of a bad end, but whatev. **

**Review, por favor!**


	29. a, b, c

**This is for nadia the demented one's ABC challenge. Notice anything about the first letters of each sentence...?**

**Characters/Pairings: Jacob/Renesmee**

**x x x **

**Abnormal**

Abnormality is one thing about their relationship; _they are not normal. _By any standards, it cannot be deemed as ordinary (and they thought her parents were pushing it).

Carelessly glanced at from the outside, he seems like an overprotective older brother.

"Darling, isn't she?" the neighbors whisper when Jacob and Renesmee walk down the street that evening, her tiny body nestled in his warm arms as she points out butterflies and flowers in a high clear voice. "Ever so pretty. Father-like, that boy, how sweet."

Grinning and glancing up at the moon that is beginning to show in the slowly darkening sky, he takes the compliments and pretends she is his little sister.

However many times he hears her voice, it never ceases to amaze him. It is similar to her mother's- soft and warm and very precise, but it comes from this little tiny girl and makes him blink a few times to make sure he heard correctly.

"Jacob," she whispers in his ear as they make their way down the street, avoiding puddles and rocks on their way to the forest.

Kissing her on the cheek, he responds: "Yeah, Nessie?"

Little by little the sun is disappearing, and the air smells sweet from the rain that fell earlier that day. Maybe a little mossy and clean; the scent is hard to describe. Night is falling, and it's their favorite time.

"Our moon is out," she answers after a pause, a smile lighting her face and his heart as they break past the first few trees. "Phase."

Quietly, he sets her down and strips behind a tree, then lets his instinct take over and fur rip through his body.

Reappearing, he lopes over and nuzzles her face with his wet nose, tickling her cheeks with shaggy fur. She smiles and climbs gracefully onto his back, holding on to chunks of hair tightly.

They take off into the trees, wind swirling her soft curls around her face. Underneath the sky he runs, relaxing as paws pound the earth and feeling the beat of her heart against his back.

Very slowly, he comes to the realization that she has fallen asleep- her breathing slows and becomes even, she is no longer sending projections of her happiness into his head.

When he is sure she is dreaming, he phases back, sets her sleeping form in a patch of grass, pulls his clothes back on, and just gazes at her.

eXplaining their relationship to anyone would be difficult; they were just not normal (as a whole, or individually.)

Yet he really doesn't mind.

Zipping up her pink jacket, he cradles her in his arms and stands up, heading back home.

**x x x**

**So I kinda cheated on the x one... hope it still counts :)**

**Review!**


	30. Sense Me

I found a bunch of prompots at the community livejournal Twilight 20 that I really liked and wanted to write about

**I found a bunch of prompts at the community livejournal Twilight 20 that I really liked and wanted to write about. So there's going to be a lot of that soon.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella/Edward**

**x x x**

**Sense Me**

**See**

He saw her first, a tangle of messy brown hair. Brown eyes, cast downward. Scatter of freckles across a tiny nose.

Shy.

Soft smile. Pale cheeks tinged with rose. Cherry lips, just a little bit chapped.

She wasn't exceedingly pretty.

But he wondered about her.

**Hear**

Then it was her voice.

Beautiful and warm, tinkling bells rounded out with an even A note and the sound of humming birds.

When he got home he pressed that A over and over but it wouldn't compare.

**Smell**

It killed him to breathe in her scent, but he tortured himself every day.

Meadow, filled with flowers, freesia and lilac and just a hint of honeysuckle.

The sleepy smell of lavender, dreamy and soft. Dash of vanilla, musk of jasmine.

He ached for more when she was gone.

**Touch**

His hand wouldn't stop.

Up and down her arms, across her alabaster skin, creamier than milk and smoother than silk.

Across her face, brushing strands of fine chestnut hair behind her ears.

Thumbs caress her cheeks, across her knuckles.

Holding his head to her heart, across the cool skin of her neck and the scratchy wool of her sweater, he holds her delicate fingers in his hands.

**Taste**

Kissing her is like a dream.

Lips against hers.

He hates human taste, but she is an exception. She is honey and vanilla and coconut, strawberries and chocolate and sweet cream.

Familiar and exotic, mild and strong.

Overpowering and never enough.

Bella.

**x x x**

**I wrote this really fast, so I'm not sure how good it is, but I quite like it. :)**

**P.s. Sorry for sorta disappearing :) I've been busy.**


	31. Human

"Can you still be human when you have no mortal end

**I wrote this for Twilight Novel Novice's September Challenge, which was to write about Bella's first time back at school after becoming a vampire. So, here it is. :)**

**x x x**

**Human**

"Can you still be human when you have no mortal end?"

-Roran, Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

**x x x**

The first day back at school, Bella forgets to breathe.

She's sitting in class, nervous but in control. Scared, but keeping it together.

She won't screw this up. She made the promise to herself early this morning, and the day before, and weeks before that. She will do this right.

And suddenly she realizes she isn't aware of her surroundings. She can no longer smell the warm blood of the students, or even the overwhelming fruity hair products on the girl across the aisle. There is no bland aroma of notebook paper, no bitter tang of pen ink, no musty scent of white chalk against a worn eraser. She can't even smell the velvet and honey of Edward.

_It has been 20 minutes_ _and she hasn't taken a breath._

She inhales sharply and quickly.

But it scares her, so much. She did something no human should be able to. She glances around the classroom, but no one appears to have noticed.

She breathes heavily now, in and out, tasting the air and recalling every scent in the classroom. It calms her, just a little, and she closes her eyes.

Edward looks at her, question and concern in his eyes.

She shakes her head. "Nothing," she murmurs, and she leans her nose into his sweater and breathes in his scent like it's a drug.

**x x x**

Next hour, she sits like a statue. Her arms are laid across the desk, chin propped against the top of her left hand. Her ankles are crossed neatly at the base of her metal chair.

Her back is straight, head aimed forward. She listens to the lecture without really hearing.

She focuses on breathing. Carefully and slowly, she inhales and exhales. This class smells different than the previous, like pencil lead and salt.

But she does not move.

And she stays like this, until she hears the boy across the aisle whisper to his friend, "How does she stay so still like that?"

Bella hears the boy's head turn, hears him scratch his head. "Weird," he says. "That whole family is kinda strange."

And she beings fidgeting, uncrosses her ankles, folds and refolds her arms. She blinks too many times, and repeatedly pushes sections of hair behind her ears. She taps her pencil against the side of her head. She drums her fingers across the hard surface of her desk. Feet tapping like crazy, she can't stop moving now.

"Bella," Edward murmurs to her, placing a hand on her back. "Bella, it's okay."

**x x x**

She walks too fast in the hall.

Students move around her, opening lockers and rustling for homework assignments. Collecting books, shoes squeaking against the tile floor.

Some move in groups, slowly and as a unit. Like the six girls with ponytails passing around a bottle of vanilla-scented lotion. Or the four boys each wearing some sort of sports-related clothing- hat, jersey, sweatshirt.

Other kids are rushing, these ones usually alone. They have a class on the other side of the school, or they need to catch up with a teacher. Whatever it is, they move quickly and Bella sees them.

But she's going faster than them and she doesn't realize it.

"Slow down," she hears in her ear, and she stops. Edward nods to her, and she nods weakly back.

She's already at the end of the hall.

She hadn't _noticed._ She'd been speeding through the hall so fast it hadn't been detected by the humans, but she didn't even _know._

She blinks, once, twice, and closes her eyes tightly. She wants to collapse.

**x x x**

At lunch she doesn't pretend to eat.

She doesn't even think to pick up something out of the lunch line; she simply follows the scent of Edward to find her family at a table in the corner.

She scoots across the bench quickly, maybe a little too fast for human speed. But she is next to Edward, leaning against his shoulder. "Hi," she says, and kisses him on the cheek.

He smiles back.

She forgets about what happened earlier, about anything she was worried about. She's fine now, she's with Edward, talking and smiling. She's near Alice, hearing stories, watching her brother drape a lazy arm over Rosalie's shoulder.

But she hears the snippet of conversation from another table.

"Why doesn't that brunette eat? The rest of them at least have food."

And everything comes flooding back, everything she's been doing wrong and she can't stand it.

She shoves an entire piece of pizza from Jasper's plate into her mouth and immediately wants to throw up.

**x x x**

Edward finds her after school and leads her to the car.

"How was your first day?" he murmurs as he kisses the top of her head.

She squeezes her eyes shut. She doesn't want to talk about it.

But she is remembering everything, things she can't forget. She made a promise, and she couldn't follow it. She did this _wrong. _The blood doesn't bother her. It's acting like what she's not.She's not _good _at_ this._

_She's not human._

But she didn't know it would be this hard to pretend she was.

"I can't do this," she breathes into Edward's shoulder.

**x x x**

**Review, por favor!**


	32. I recall a long farewell

**Sorry I haven't updated in a month. I've been SO busy. **

**I downloaded a ton of songs called "Twilight" and my favorite was Twilight by Thriving Ivory. Check them out, his voice is god. But I really really love that song, so this inspired by it.**

**This is sort of alternate universe... WHOA! So THAT'S what AU stands for! Ha! I finally know.**

**Characters/Pairings: Bella, Jacob**

**x x x**

**I recall a long farewell and a time to choose.**

Weeks, months even, before Edward was going to change her, Bella built up a wall in her mind made of the goodbyes she could not bring herself to say aloud.

Good bye, Charlie.

Add another brick.

Goodbye, Renee, Phil.

Angela, Jessica, Mike, Seth, Leah, Paul, Sam, Emily, Kim, Jared- Goodbye.

The wall grew thicker.

So when she finally said a goodbye aloud to Jacob Black's face, she was calm.

"Goodbye, Jacob," she whispered, eyes blank, no emotion pushing past the barrier.

She turned away before she could see the hurt on his face.

This was her choice.

**x x x**

**Review, please!**

P.S. Prompts are from Twilight by Thriving Ivory.


	33. Betrayal

**Woww I'm sorry I never update. I'm kinda brain dead lately, and super busy all the time. **

**This one isn't my favorite, and I don't think it's all that good, but whatever. I wrote it really fast. Enjoy anyway :)**

**This is for sick-atxxheart's "Going Deeper" challenge.**

**Title: Betrayal**

**Characters/Pairings: Irina**

**x x x**

**Betrayal**

Irina had come to Forks to apologize.

She hadn't told her family where she was going. She'd whispered to Tanya that she needed to be alone for awhile, she was missing Laurent, she felt like she was missing something. Tanya had hugged her good bye and said she'd be waiting when Irina back.

Irina had made her away across the country to Washington, to this gray, rainy town, to apologize for not coming to a stupid wedding. She'd been thinking a lot lately, and realized that she couldn't blame the Cullens for this.

Wolves were wolves. The vampire had been about to attack a human. They had to do _something._ If she had destroyed the dogs like she wanted, it would certainly cause questioning. She'd be drawing attention to everything, and she couldn't have that happen.

It had been a brash decision, a stubborn one, and Irina regretted making ultimatums. But she was intent on fixing it.

She'd wandered into this unfamiliar territory, searching for the Cullen family, following the scent of vampires that had been here recently, trying to ignore the stench of _dog_. She heard voices in the distance, changing her course to go towards them.

The voices got louder, and Irina was close enough to smell that it was vampires, not humans, she was approaching. But it was an unfamiliar scent, one she'd never heard before. Maybe a She mentally prepared what she would say.

And then she'd looked around the tree in front of her and seen the child.

In the clearing, a deer carcass on the ground, they stood, huddled together.

A girl, clearly vampire, was farther away from them, Irina could see her a few trees away. But right in front of her was a _dog, _with a little girl with porcelain skin and the same smell all vampires had.

An immortal child.

Flashbacks, memories and recognitions Irina had made attempts to smother filled her mind. Deep longing filled her up, made her heavy. Her perfect posture slouched, hair falling in her face. All the pain that she'd been through, years and years ago, was pulling her down.

She breathed heavily, wanting to collapse, wanting to scream, wanting to go back and for this not to have happened.

Then the brunette vampire noticed her, made eye contact. Her eyes were confused, surprised, shocked. And then fear. She ran toward the immortal child, as if to shield her from view.

But Irina had already seen. She immediately turned and dashed off back into the forest, flitting between trees and not stopping until. She didn't know where she was going, but they could not find her.

The pain in her eyes had turned from hurt to absolute rage. She let out a breath through her teeth, a hiss that pierced the air whooshing around her.

_How dare they._

She slammed into a tree, knocking it down with a noise like thunder. She hurled a rock into a river, causing a splash and an obvious crater to form at the bottom. She didn't are where she was, or who heard her, or what would even happen after this.

It didn't _matter._

The Cullens knew what she and her sisters had been through, what had happened to their mother and brother.

They knew that this was wrong.

Maybe if she talked to them, they would apologize. Explain it. But she didn't think she could bring herself to go back there. It was too painful. And even if there was a reason, they still needed to be punished.

So a plan formed in Irina's mind, and she ran forward, her mission set. They would _pay_ for this.

Irina didn't forgive easily.

**x x x**

**Review, please!**


	34. So we part like rivers

**Thanks for reviewing, everyone! Sorry if I didn't reply- fanfiction is being weird and making me log in 927034789234 times before I can submit a review reply.**

**  
So, I decided to continue with this Thriving Ivory prompt song. Here's the second line. This isn't really related to the other one. :)**

**x x x**

**So we part like rivers baby, yeah like rivers do.**

Bella and Jake meet at the beach. Gently, he takes her tiny hand and leads her towards the water. They sit silently together, push their feet into the chilly water, watching as goose-bumps pop up on Bella's legs.

They both toss in a twig and watch it float away.

But Jake's suddenly gets rerouted by a gust of wind, and it returns to shore, washing up along the beach right next to him.

Bella's floats father out, before a wave crashes over it and it is pushed underwater.

Finally they look at each other, and their eyes say everything.

**x x x**

**Eh. Tried a different tense. Not my favorite, but there's some good ones coming up.**


	35. I still think about you though

**Here's the next one...**

**x x x**

**But I still think about you though...**

Bella smiles slightly as a car drives by. She is sitting on the window ledge, gazing out, her body perfectly still.

Edward looks over at the movement, smiles back. He hasn't seen her smile like this a long, long time, and it makes him happier.

"What?" he asks, stepping closer and brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

She bites her lip, shakes her head. "Nothing."

"Bella?"

She shakily lets her mind guard drop, and Edward sees the car drive by, and the feeling of happiness that accompanies it.

A Volkswagen Rabbit.

Jacob had a car like that.

**x x x**

**Thish ish mah favorite so far. :)**

**Review, please!**


	36. New Moon Christmas

**Sorry about the chapter I had up before, it was for another drabble, and I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter!! I edited, and here's the real one.**

**Just a short, sad, Holiday drabble. I forgot I wrote it awhile ago and was going to post it on Christmas, so it's a little late. :)**

**x x x**

Edward doesn't know how long he's been gone when his cell phone finally rings.

"Hi, Edward." It's Alice. "How are you?"

"Good," he says. "Busy. I'm not too good at this tracking thing," he says, managing to add a small laugh.

"Well, Merry Christmas," she says. "We all miss you."

He blinks. He hadn't realized it was December already.

"You too," he says after pause. "Tell everyone hello for me."

"Okay..." Edward can tell Alice wants to say something more.

"Bella misses you too," she finally murmurs.

Edward jabs the end button and shoves the phone back into his pocket.


	37. Wonder

**Sorry for all the short ones, I'm not in the mood to write anything long.**

**This is a continuation of Bella/Jake stuff based off of Twilight by Thriving Ivory. I quite like it. :)**

**x x x**

**And wonder how it is your life did unfold.**

While Bella sits with Edward, waiting for the days to pass (too slowly, but at least they pass), she imagines what Jacob's doing.

She envisions him with a family. He's happy, of course. He's got a wife, a few kids.

He still probably hangs around with the pack. Maybe he has dinner with the Clearwaters, or with Sam and Emily.

Or maybe he hasn't met anyone. But still he's happy, because he's got his own garage.

But sometimes Bella imagines that he's still sitting in his garage with sodas in a paper bag and their old motorcycles, waiting for her.

**x x x**

**Actually, I quite love this one! Review, por favor!**


	38. Show me what it looks like

**This one isn't my favorite, but hope you like it anyway. :)**

**---**

**Show me what it looks like.**

"_I love him, Jacob!"_

"_But Bella. Think about what you're giving up!"_

"I am not giving up anything!"

"_You're giving up your goddamn soul!" She's shooting him a glare, so he's trying again._

"_Kids, Bella! Can the bloodsucker give you kids? Can he give you a family? Can you grow old with him?"_

"_Think about it! Can you see us? 30 years from now? With a family? I can. We'd be so _happy._"_

_She's walking away, she doesn't want to hear it._

Now she realizes she didn't want to hear it because she knew she would like Jacob's option better.

---

**Review!**


	39. Outside your window

**I'm kinda brain dead, so this is still a continuation of "Twilight" by Thriving Ivory. :) Enjoy!**

**---**

**Outside your window at twilight.**

_Tap. Tap tap. Bang!_

_Bella runs to the window, and outside is Jacob Black, standing with a sheepish smile and a hand full of pebbles. Bella shakes her head and rolls her eyes but struggles into her jacket and slips slowly down the stairs. She trips over her own feet as she pulls on her boots, but somehow she makes it outside and into Jake's car._

Tap. Tap tap. Bang!

This time when Bella runs to her window, it's nothing but hail from the stormy sky knocking the glass.

She can't hide how much she wishes it was something else.

**---**

**Review!**


	40. Everywhere

**So, I haven't written good ol' Bella/Edward fluff in a long time. :)**

**Character/Pairing: Bella/Edward**

**---**

Everywhere

_I'll speak a little louder_

_I'll even shout_

_You know that I'm proud_

_And I can't get the words out_

_Oh, I wanna be with you everywhere._

_-Everywhere, Fleetwood Mac_

He's left her alone this morning for a little bit, enough time for her to get dressed and eat, before they go to the meadow.

He rushes home, the car practically flying, and changes his clothes at the speed of light. He pulls on jeans, the navy shirt she says is her favorite.

"You can leave her alone for more than five minutes, you know." Emmett rolls his eyes in the doorway. "Why do you need to be with her all the time?"

Edward simply shrugs and brushes past him. He can't answer that question, because he really doesn't know. He just knows that he can't be away from her. He feels sort of silly, but the only thing he can think of is that she's like the nucleus of a noble gas atom, helium maybe, and he's the surrounding two electrons being pulled in toward it. He doesn't want to be given up, he doesn't want to bond with another atom. They're stable.

She flies outside before he can knock on the door, throws her arms around him.

He can't stop breathing in her scent, the florals, the vanilla, and he doesn't even care that his throat is on fire because it's _Bella._

So they go to the meadow, lay in the grass. Whispering to each other, sometimes not even talking. Just holding hands.

His lips are in her hair, they move down to her ear, her cheek her lips. She breathes softly, tiny little breaths.

When he pulls away, she sighs. Her eyes are shifting, like she wants to say something, but she's nervous.

"What?" he prods gently.

"Do you... do you really love me?" she finally asks, biting her lip.

He stares at her, astonished. "Of course I do."

She looks unconvinced.

He stands up. "Do you want me to yell it?"

Her eyes widen, as if the thought of him yelling anything is alarming.

But he springs upward. And stands in the middle of the field, arms spread why. "I, EDWARD CULLEN, LOVE ISABELLA MARIE SWAN WITH MY ENTIRE EXISTANCE!" It echoes through the trees, squawking birds fly away in groups. And he walks back to her and puts his arms around her.

"Do you believe me now?"

She smiles. "Yes." And their lips meet.

Finally he pulls away and tells her his chemistry theory about how they're like an atom. She bites her lip, barely stifling her giggles, but they burst forward, a noise like bells.

But she nods slowly. "Yup. That... fits."

"I don't know what I'm going to do when you graduate, and you move on to better things," he tells her softly.

She laughs.

"I'll always want to be with you, silly."

**---**

**That was really random, but I quite liked it. :)**

**Haha, chemistry metaphors are my favorite.**


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